Inactivity fee, when does it apply?

[AndriXF7]

Hello,
I would know if I use ninjatrader platform only for analysis and then I trade using another broker, so on ninjatrader I would have only the subscriptions for the data feeds and I won't fund the trading account, does inactivity fee apply? Because I know that subscriptions will be charged monthly directly into the bank account, but the trading account is independent, so given that inactivity fee is deducted from trading account and I won't fund it because I will not use it, in my situation does it apply anyway?
Thanks.

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello AndriXF7,

Thank you for reaching out.

Since this is discussing a personal account setup and fees, please send an email directly to Support[AT]NinjaTrader[DOT]com with a link to this forum post in the Subject or body of the email so we may provide more details and information.

We look forward to receiving your email and resolving your inquiry.

[AndriXF7]

Ok, thanks.

[Lunorri]

Hello,
I would know if I use ninjatrader platform only for analysis and then I trade using another broker, so on ninjatrader I would have only the subscriptions for the data feeds and I won't fund the trading account, does inactivity fee apply? Because I know that subscriptions will be charged monthly directly into the bank account, but the trading account is independent, so given that inactivity fee is deducted from trading account and I won't fund it because I will not use it, in my situation does it apply anyway?
Thanks.

Good day,
I would like to ask if you solved this situation (realtime data - using demo - use platform only for analysis - trade in own broker - no funded live account - no inactivity fees)?

thank you in advance for your reply and have a nice rest of the day.

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello Lunorri,

Thank you for the message.

In short, if you don't have a funded account with NinjaTrader Brokerage then there is no way for you to be charged an inactivity fee from NinjaTrader.

• The inactivity fee only applies to a Live and Funded NinjaTrader Brokerage account that hasn't had any live trades placed on it within the month if the account has been connected to in a platform.
  • Click here to see the various fees that could be charged to a NinjaTrader account.

If you don't have a NinjaTrader Brokerage account, then none of these apply to you and you would have to reach out to your Broker or Data provider and ask them if they have any other fees.


Otherwise, for example, if a user only had Kinetick as their Data provider and that is it. Then they would only be paying Kinetick for the Monthly Market Data Subscription.

• There wouldn't be any additional fees to simply connect to the Kinetick data and use it to chart in the platform.

The only way there would be another fee from NinjaTrader is if the user wanted to use the Order Flow + indicators, then they would have to pay for that monthly upgrade. But, that is only if they want to use those indicators and features. If not, then they don't have to add and pay for it.

• How Can I Add NinjaTrader's Order Flow+ Features to My Account?

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[Lunorri]

Good day,
thank you very much for the info.

I was hesitant to open a live account, which I need to be able to buy realtime data from Ninjatrader, because I don't plan to trade through Ninjatrader.

I'm still learning the basics and I'm happy to use a broker that provides me with information and communication in my language. Who knows when I'll get to trading with real money - and until then I wanted to use Ninjatrader for analysis and possibly test trades on a demo account.

I was struck by a message at https://account.ninjatrader.com/settings/subscriptions
which says: Market data subscriptions are available to funded brokerage account holders.

But if it is really possible:
1) create a live account
2) pay for realtime data (e.g. level 1 using a payment card)
- in addition, data directly from NT seems more advantageous to me than searching for multiple data providers.
3) use this data on a demo account for analysis through NT8
4) and not having to pay inactivity fees (as I will only purchase data from NT, but not deposit any money into the live account),
then this option would solve my situation where I don't want to burden myself with paying $25/month when I'm just learning the theory and still postponing trading to an indefinite date.

So would it be possible to confirm this procedure? Even considering what is written on the above mentioned pages about subscription for market data?

Thank you in advance for the assurance and I wish you a nice rest of the day.

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello Lunorri,

Thank you for the update.

If you read my prior post carefully, you will see I chose the words "Funded NinjaTrader Brokerage Account"

• To be able to subscribe to real-time data with NinjaTrader Brokerage, you would have to apply and be approved for an account.
• Then, you would have to fund the account.
• Once the account has funds in it, you would then be able to sign up for real-time market data.
  • At that point, you could be subjected to the Inactivity fee
  • Once an account has been funded, there is a 2 month grace period before an Inactivity fee may be charged.
  • The inactivity fee can be avoided by placing a single round-trip trade on a Micro instrument for example:
    • Click here to see the various fees that could be charged to a NinjaTrader account.

Otherwise, you are welcome to get an account with a "Market Data Provider" only like Kinetick, IQFeed, or eSignal and then you would only have to pay for the monthly market data subscription. Since those are data providers only and not brokers, there wouldn't be any kind of live account to deal with its fees.

• It would be up to you to reach out to the various other providers and see how much it would cost to pay for real-time market data from them.
  • Data by Provider

However, you may find that the Market Data + Inactivity Fee from NinjaTrader would still cost less per month than a Delayed Data market data package with some of the data providers.

• So, it may be worth ignoring the inactivity fee and thinking of it as part of the market data price when you compare it to other ones.
  • Then if you ever start trading live, this would be irrelevant.
• The one you choose to go with is completely up to you.

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[Lunorri]

Good day,
thank you very much for all the time you have devoted to this discussion and thank you for the clarification. As we say: measure twice, cut once.

Now at least I have some idea how to behave.
Realtime data from NT (even level 2) + inactivity fees are really much cheaper than with other data providers.

So, ideally in the future I would learn to trade through NT as well - to make at least 1 trade/month, and in practice I would thus achieve a fee only for data + possibly for data analysis tools.
- then just complete the W8-BEN form so that I don't have a problem with double taxation.

That sounds pretty good to me, if a bit complicated, but definitely less expensive financially for my startup. But as you wrote, if I were to ignore the inactivity fee, it's still a great price.


Thanks again for your help and have a nice rest of the day.